New Microsoft Ad Campaign Targets Mac Prices

Microsoft has begun a new ad campaign focused on pricing differences between Macs and PCs. The most prominent piece of the campaign deployed so far has been a TV commercial in which "Lauren" is given a $1000 budget with which to find a 17" notebook computer. After a brief stop at a "Mac Store" where she comes away empty-handed noting that the only computer available for under $1000 has a 13" screen and saying "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person," she settles on a $699 HP notebook from Best Buy.

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:0bb6a07c-c829-4562-8375-49e6693810c7&showPlaylist=true&from=shared" target="_new" title="Laptop Hunters $1000 Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion">Video: Laptop Hunters $1000 Lauren Gets an HP Pavilion</a>

Another aspect of Microsoft's new campaign is web banner ads that have begun appearing today on a number of sites, including The New York Times. The ads feature two "slot machines", each showing either a Mac or a PC and two other items meant to illustrate how much extra spending money a PC purchaser would have left over to spend on other items when compared to a Mac purchaser. The ads are interactive, allowing users to click to "spin again" and see different combinations of items.

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